Ontario reports 3,814 patients with COVID in hospital, 527 in ICUs

Ontario is reporting 3,814 people are in hospital with COVID on Friday, though just over half of them were initially admitted due to complications with the virus.

The Ontario government recently released data this week differentiating between those who were admitted to hospital due to a COVID-related illness and incidental admissions.

Of the 3,814 people in hospital with COVID-19, which is up by 184 since yesterday, around 53 per cent of them were admitted because of the virus, while about 47 per cent were admitted for other reasons but tested positive for COVID-19.

The province also reported of the hospitalizations, there are 527 people in ICUs, which is up by 27 from the previous day. Around 80 per cent of those in intensive care were admitted because of COVID, while around 20 per cent were admitted for other reasons.

Hospitalizations for people testing positive for COVID in Ontario have reached an all-time pandemic high, up from 2,472 reported last Friday.

Patients in ICUs with COVID continue to climb in Ontario, but the third wave recorded the most number of patients in ICUs at 900 on May 1.

For vaccination status among hospitalizations, 686 were unvaccinated, 167 were partially vaccinated and 2,035 were fully vaccinated. For patients in ICUs, 168 were unvaccinated while 19 were partially vaccinated and 185 were fully vaccinated. This dataset will grow and improve over time, officials noted.

In population comparison, while the majority of Ontarians are vaccinated, those who are unvaccinated are still far more likely to land in hospital or ICU than the vaccinated, according to Ontario’s COVID-19 Science Advisory Table.

Ontario COVID cases, deaths, vaccinations, recoveries, testing

Meanwhile, Ontario also reported 10,964 new COVID-19 cases on Friday, though that is an underestimate of the true widespread transmission of the virus due to recent testing restrictions. The provincial case total now stands at 926,904.

Of the 10,964 new cases recorded, the data showed 1,458 were unvaccinated people, 365 were partially vaccinated people, 8,518 were fully vaccinated people. For 623 people the vaccination status was unknown.

The death toll in the province has risen to 10,522 as 42 more virus-related deaths were added. Of that, 41 deaths were from the past month and one death was from more than a month ago.

There are a total of 804,886 recoveries, which is around 87 per cent of known cases. Resolved cases increased by 21,672 from the previous day.

For vaccinations, of the aged 12 and older population, 88.6 per cent are fully vaccinated. First dose coverage stands at 91.3 per cent. Third dose immunization is at 41.1 per cent — more than 5.3 million Ontarians have received a booster shot.

For young children aged five to 11, first dose coverage stands at 48.5 per cent with 5.3 per cent who are now fully vaccinated.

The province administered 163,036 doses in the last day.

The government said 58,031 tests were processed in the previous 24 hours. Test positivity rate stands at 21.8 per cent. There are 72,005 tests currently under investigation.

Cases, deaths and outbreaks in Ontario long-term care homes

According to the Ontario Ministry of Long-Term Care, there have been 3,893 deaths reported among residents and patients in long-term care homes across Ontario, which an increase of three deaths since the previous day. Thirteen virus-related deaths in total have been reported among staff.

There are 326 current outbreaks in homes, which is up by two from the previous day.

The ministry also indicated there are currently 2,146 active cases among long-term care residents and 3,830 active cases among staff — up by 58 and up by 19, respectively, in the last day.

— With files from Ryan Rocca